Journal of the Middle Uchiha Child
by Amateur Marauder
Summary: Inosaichi (or just Saichi) Uchiha is the middle child of three children. Itachi Uchiha and Inora Uchiha. He was given a journal by his mother in attempts to get him to clear his mind in training for his clan's jutsu. How will his adolesence unfold with Sasuke and Ino as his parents, Naruto as his Village leader, and Naruto's daughter as his eternal rival? Lets find out together.
1. Chapter 1

Hi, journal,

Mother decided to give me a journal today and told me to start using it. So here I am. She tells me that if I want to use the mind techniques of the Yamanaka clan then I need to be able to clear my mind quickly. She thinks by writing this journal it can clear my mind effectively when I'm fighting and training. That's only if I use it a lot. She says she's been doing it since she was twelve. I just turned nine last month. She wants me to start early. Itachi said he's done it since he was seven, and he just started at the ninja academy a few days ago. He's already run through four volumes of his own journal. I wonder what's in it. Probably more ways to be mean to me. My father laughs when we talk about a journal in front of him. Says sarcastically that I won't need such techniques because I'll eventually unlock my Sharingan and the other techniques will become obsolete. That's usually when my mother grits her teeth at him and her eyes get really big. It makes me laugh every time.

I feel lame that I don't have anything cool to write down for my first entry, so I guess I'll just ramble on or something. My name is Inosaichi Uchiha. I mostly go by Saichi though. I'm the youngest son and I'm the middle child between Itachi, myself and then Inora. My bigger brother is Itachi. He's twelve and in the ninja academy. My younger sister is named Inora, and she is four years old. She's really short, even for her age. Mother says she will get really tall eventually. We all have black hair, which annoys my mother. My father is Sasuke Uchiha, who is best friends and the personal aide of Naruto Uzumaki, more commonly known as the sixth Hokage. My mother is Ino Yamanaka who is best friends with the "Chief of Medicine" Saukra Haruno. This was a position that Naruto created specifically for her. My mother isn't much of a ninja anymore. She spends most of her time at the flower shop whenever she can.

What's next? Oh. The village. The Hokage is Naruto Uzumaki and he's been Hokage since he turned nineteen. He is married to a Hyuga. Hinata Hyuga I think. Yeah, that's right. They have one kid. I hate her. I'm serious. I really do. Narucha Uzumaki is eight years old, and I swear she is my eternal rival. Or at least she pretends to be. She looks exactly like her father in his younger days. At least that I've seen from pictures. Except she has two long ponytails, and her eyes are that smoldering grey that her mother has. She has already found a way to use her Byakugan at will, and she has already signed a contract seal with the toads, even though she is unable to use Sage Jutsu. My father says that she got lucky being blessed like that. The next child they have probably won't be able to use either the Byakugan or sign a contract seal so Naruto's and Hinata's traits will cancel each other out and their child will not be strong at all. Narucha is strong anyways. As soon as I awaken my Sharingan I'll beat her!

But first I gotta beat Itachi. He trains too hard. I just hope he dosent awaken his Sharingan before I do.

What else do I need to add for my first entry? Uh… I think that's it. Tomorrow mom is taking us to Naruto's house to visit. I really don't want to deal with Narucha. I refuse. She is always so serious. Naruto is so relaxed, so I think she should be too. Whatever. Anyways, I think that's it for today.

So… goodnight I guess.

-Saichi


	2. Chapter 2

Dear Journal,

That still seems lame. I need to think of something cool. What does Itachi's say? I should go and take his and find out. Anyways, me and Narucha finally had a sparring match today in the backyard of our house! Naruto and father were watching and joking with each other about who the victor would be. Hinata and mother were polar opposites. Hinata was hoping neither of us hurt each other and being all quiet, and mother was loud in cheering me on. She was making me nervous! Itachi was watching, but he looked really bored. Inora was watching too, but she was rooting against me. That brat. I was really prepared to defeat Narucha, and then take on Itachi next and be the strongest of all of us! Besides, father taught me the Fireball Jutsu a week ago. I should be able to do it.

The last time we clashed, I used only Taijutsu to try to beat her. Big mistake. Especially when you're fighting the Gentle Fist and you have no Sharingan to read their movements. I forget that she was trained so well since basically birth. Mother wanted father to wait to until I turned twelve to train me, but he managed to sneak a few lessons in. This time, I was going to use my brand new Jutsu after I kept her at a long range. As long as I kept her at some type of range, she would eventually exhaust herself trying to close the gap between us. When that happened, I would close in on her and deliver a few shots using my Taijutsu. I'd distract her with the jutsu and hit her in the blind spot! She would get sluggish and crack after that, and then I'd be able to win!

That didn't work. Long story short, she beat me up.

At my strategy worked until I tried to use the Fireball Jutsu. I kept my range and she was tired and began to get frustrated. She was in the air and unable to avoid it, and then I think I messed up in weaving a hand seal. The tiger seal I messed up on. When I tried to actually execute my attack, nothing happened. She hit me hard on the head and I passed out. Mother told me that Itachi was upset he couldn't study the power of the Hyuga clan firsthand because the fight was so brief. Father was disappointed. Naruto cheered excessively loudly according to my father. I'll get her next time! I really do hate her. That's the third time she's beat me. Next time she won't be so lucky! My Jutsu will work!

Anyways, what else happened today? Oh, the most important thing. After the fight, I begged father to train me more while we were eating dinner. He told me no. And here is why.

He said that he would rather have mother train me in the Yamanaka Jutsu. Itachi dropped his jaw and cupped his hands over his mouth. Inora laughed. Mother gave father a look of anger. It didn't hurt my heart until I really thought about it. My father thinks incredibly highly of the bloodline of his clan, and he trained me in it since I could speak and understand what chakra was. He never said it out loud, but we could always tell that he didn't want us to learn the mind techniques of my mother's clan because he felt that they were inferior to his. Then again, to be fair, lots of bloodline techniques are inferior to his own. But just then, he said he would rather me learn her "inferior" type of techniques rather than his.

In other words, I don't think father likes me anymore.

I think that's it for today. I'm going to go to bed and think about how big of a disappointment father thinks I am. Maybe that's why I have this journal. He knew this before the match today. Now I just feel worse!

Goodnight…


	3. Chapter 3

Dear Diary.

No, that seems lame. Itachi wouldn't write that either.

Uh… hi journal?

Forget it. Today was uneventful too. I'm still kinda sad father doesn't like me anymore. Mother took Inora and I over Naruto and Hinata's house. Their house wasn't as big as ours, which I liked. Itachi explained it to me the last time we were here was that it was because that they had only one child. There were three in our estate.

So mother and Hinata sit down and start talking like adults do. For hours and about boring stuff. I lounge on the floor just as Inora sleeps on the couch. Narucha is doing something elsewhere in the house. After what feels like hours of boredom, Hinata then panics and checks the time. Its noon. It's only been thirty minutes since we got here. That sucks. She summons Narucha and then gives her a lunch box and tells her to run to her father. Mother tells me to walk with her. Narucha says "I don't need that weakling walking with me!" I want to beat her up.

So we leave, and I see that Narucha is fast. Itachi says she practices chakra control by focusing her chakra to her legs and feet in her normal moments so it's easier for her to do it in battle. So I have to run to keep up. She immediately takes to the rooftops and runs towards the mansion. My chakra control isn't as good as hers, so I nearly exhaust myself trying to keep up. When we get to the mansion, Naruto's other personal aide, Shikamaru Nara, tells us that he and Sasuke left for lunch at Ichiraku five minutes ago.

Narucha and I turn around and head straight for Ichiraku. The mansion is barely a few minute walk from Ichiraku. So we arrive quickly and see my father and Naruto tearing into a big bowls of ramen. At the moment that Naruto turned his head and saw us, he panicked and fell out of his chair. This is exactly what happened next. I can't make this up.

My father remained in his seat and sat with his eyes closed eating his lunch. "Saichi. What are you doing here?"

I stammered. "Uh… mom told me to walk with Narucha."

Naruto nearly had a seizure as he tried to stand up. "WHAT!?"

Narucha smiled. I hate her smile. "Yeah daddy. Mom told me to run and give you lunch before you went to get more ramen."

Naruto fell to the floor again as my father grinned. "Well Naruto, looks like you'll have to explain to Hinata that you ignored her lunch and had ramen for a week straight."

Naruto's eyes became huge white dinner plates. "I'M SUPPOSED TO BE THE HOKAGE! I CAN EAT WHATEVER I WANT!"

Narucha smiled in a way that people do when they have something to snarky to say. "I'll just tell mommy that."

Naruto was floored again. "Give me the lunch!" He yelled to his daughter. Naruto opened it and there were rice balls that looked like his face.

Father sipped the hot brown liquid in his bowl. "Well Naruto, it seems that someone will be sleeping on the couch tonight should this information get out."

Naruto clapped his hands together as if he was in prayer. "Narucha! Pleeeeeeeaase don't tell your mother about any of this… heh heh."

Narucha appeared to think of something. "How about a brand new kitty to go with our house?"

That's why I hated her. She was… like that. I can't think of the word for it. But there is a word for it! And I hated people who did that. Cunning? I forget. My father would strike me if I ever tried to negotiate with him like this!

Moving on my dad sipped more of the hot liquid. "She's smart."

He never complimented me like that…

Naruto yelled. "FINE! Deal!"

Narucha smiled and walked away. "Sweet! Mommy and me are gonna go pick one out for me! See ya later, daddy!"

Narucha ran away, and I followed after saying goodbye to my father. He said bye, but he didn't make eye contact with me. That made me feel worse. So I left, after hearing Naruto sadly say that he is probably the only Hokage in history to get blackmailed by his daughter.

And I guess that's it for the day. Nothing other than that happened. I don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow. Itachi will be in the academy all day, and Ill be home all day. Ill figure out something. Anyways… goodnight diary. That still doesn't sound cool.

-Saichi


	4. Chapter 4

Hi journal. Me again.

Itachi is learning how to coordinate missions in the academy. He is learning how to plan them out, and how to effectively get the information you want. He also asked my father for tips. He told Narucha and me to help him. Even though we would offer no realistic help in this sense, he said its practice for Itachi to. The mission Itachi created for himself is to basically listen in on a conversation between Lord Sixth and father. I still don't understand why he refers to Naruto as "Lord Sixth." Naruto told us plenty of times to not call him that. Itachi says it's a show of respect.

Itachi gave Narucha and me specific missions. Narucha's job is to bring Naruto lunch tomorrow before he leaves to Ichiraku. Itachi tells me to watch the mansion and write down times of when Naruto and Sasuke are not in each other's presence in the hour after noon. Itachi himself is going to walk around the mansion and find out the best spot to listen in on their conversation. Tomorrow we will pile all of our information together and Itachi will coordinate a plan based on what we each present. I'm excited.

The next thing to happen today happened at night. Mother left home to go gather flowers for the flower shop. She left with grandfather for a few days. Father doesn't know how to cook really, or he dosent feel like it. Probably both. So that night we all went to barbeque. Mother says that he eats barbeque as much as Naruto eats ramen. I don't think anyone could do something so much. The dinner was uneventful it was quiet, and father didn't talk much. Inora doesn't have table manners, and she's disgusting so father had to clean up after her after every bite. Itachi was rattling on about things he learned in the academy and father was giving Itachi hints on bits of his training. I was silent. Father doesn't like me anymore, so I guess he doesn't want me to talk.

The dinner was good, and we all walked home as the moon was as bright as I had ever seen it. I was walking right next to father. Inora was on the shoulders of Itachi, and he was running around really fast in random directions for her amusement.

What happened next will be forever burned into my memory.

My dad had in hand in his pockets as he watched his eldest child and youngest child whirl about in the moonlight. "Saichi, why are you so quiet?" he asked me. "Usually you're quite the chatterbox."

I was so scared to speak at that moment. I didn't want to say anything but for some reason, it all just started pouring out of me. "Because I don't think you like me anymore . You train Itachi to use the Sharingan all the time, but you said you would rather me learn mother's techniques. That kinda hurt. And you pay more attention to Itachi and Inora… and"

He stopped me from talking knelt down to me. "Saichi. I love you and your siblings more than life itself. There is no favorite. I only wanted you to learn your mother's techniques because being a ranged type of shinobi supports you more."

I replied. "But I thought you wanted all of us to learn and master the Sharingan so we could pass it down."

I'll never forget what he told me. He put his hand on my head and smiled. "I do. But I nothing more than what's best for you, especially as my son. If you are more suited to your mother's jutsu, then I won't be selfish and ignore it. Whatever is the best for you is what I will support. That's my duty as a parent."

I remember being wide-eyed the entire time, and he smiled at me. Not the usual smirk or a grin. He actually smiled at me. I saw his teeth! I leapt into his arms and hugged him. He then put me on his back and we caught up with my other two siblings.

I think dad loves me again.

That's it for today I'm getting kinda tired. I don't know what is, but barbeque always makes me so sleepy. Goodnight.


	5. Chapter 5

Hi there!

Today was the day I staked out the Hokage's mansion. I was on the rooftop of a building that I could use to look right into the Hokage's mansion. Here is in short what I saw. Not a thing. That's it. Nothing happened. Naruto sat in his desk all morning reading documents. My father appeared to keep conversation with him, sitting on a desk on the adjacent wall reading documents of his own. Shikamaru walked in and out a few times. They didn't move until Hinata brought lunch for the both of them. They ate, and that's all that happened. I wrote it all down and waited for Itachi to get out of school so I could show him.

I went home and watched Inora for the remainder of the day. Lucky for me, she doesn't wake up until noon, so she was unaffected by my absence all morning. When I got home, I ate a lunchbox my mother left us before she set out on her travels a few days ago. She knows father doesn't cook for any reason. Did father ever cook for her? I doubt it.

Nothing happened until Itachi got home. Narucha dropped her notes off earlier in the day. She scowled at me as she usually does and shoved the papers at me and. She then ran away. I hate her so much!

Itachi and I were about to plan our mission until father got home. When he got home, he decided to train us. YES! He led us to the backyard. He threw a kunai knife at the tallest tree and told Itachi to retrieve it. It was the tree climbing exercise that consisted of mostly chakra control.

He tossed me a scroll and told me to practice weaving hand seals in combination with each other. He also told me to be ready to show a combination of any of these at a moment's notice. Needless to say, I practiced so much that my hands hurt so much I can barely write. My brother is worse. He got high in the tree, but he never got the kunai my father placed there. He also took some nasty falls. Anyways, we weren't going to go in the house at night because we were scared that father was going to test us further. However we walked inside to see him and he was passed out on the couch with Inora sleeping on top of him. All she does is sleep. Itachi immediately went to his room and started to plan for the mission. He never stops working.

I guess I'm done for the day. My hands hurt. Off to bed I go.


	6. Chapter 6

Hi journal.

Today is the day! Itachi is off for the day. Mother isn't home to question us either, and Inora was asleep all morning. He awoke as soon as father left this morning and Narucha showed up soon as well. Itachi told both of us the plan as he compiled his data and formulated his plan. His plan was actually simpler than I thought. His plan was to be on the rooftop of the building. He would use his learning's from the chakra climbing exercise to support himself on the side of the building. It was up to me and Narucha to watch him so any onlookers would see him and think it was us watching his training. Besides, it literally is every day to see a ninja walking all up and down the sides of buildings. He would write the conversation down and show it to us.

Long story short, he did it without detection. However, when he got the information down, he made both me and Narucha swear to not say a word about what we saw. He showed us a paper and here is exactly what it said:

Naruto: Hey Sasuke. I actually have a question for you.

Sasuke: Yeah?

Naruto: Hinata and I were talking last night about you.

Sasuke: *scoffs* For what reason?

Naruto: Just reminiscing on when the war ended, really.

Sasuke: This has what to do with me and your question?

Naruto: Well, Hinata and I started dating after the war, and a few of the others in our class started dating. So…

Sasuke: You're wondering why I needed up with Ino as opposed to Sakura.

Naruto: Yeah, that's it. I was actually surprised when it happened.

Sasuke: *sighs* Fine. I'll tell you why. Just don't talk with your mouthful of rice. Its disgusting.

Naruto: (Inaudible. Talking while mouth is full. Sounds angry.)

Sasuke: Well, after the war I was stuck between three girls. Karin, Sakura and Ino as I'm already sure you know. Karin was actually my favorite at the time. But just as she was your cousin, she reminded me far too much of you. I couldn't do it.

Naruto: You say that like it's a bad thing.

Sasuke: It is.

Naruto: Hey!

Sasuke: Well there was no doubt that you would be the next Hokage, and I'm sure I was going to be your aide. There would be no escape from you.

Naruto: Oh whatever. Then it was between Sakura and Ino. How'd you choose?

Sasuke: Sakura was working all day and night at the end of the war at the hospital, so we had no time to repair the relationship to build on that we previously had. Besides, I couldn't find it in me to view Sakura more than what she was. She would be a comrade and that would be the end of that. Ino however could not seem to leave me alone.

Naruto: So that's why!

Sasuke: No.

Naruto: Then why?

Sasuke: Because you know my primary goal has been to restore my clan. The Uchiha need to live on. Ino is a part of the Yamanaka clan. So after finding the dark secret of her clan, I couldn't ignore that.

Naruto: Dark secret?

Sasuke: You're Hokage and you don't know?

Naruto: Are you gonna tell me or what?

Sasuke: Their history of full-on frequent inbreeding. You're Hokage and you didn't know? Their genetic traits required for their jutsu are incredibly recessive. So I figured the Sharingan would be easiest to pass down through her.

Naruto: *gets wide eyed and drops jaw* So you are using her for her genes!? That's low, Sasuke!

Sasuke: Whatever. There's more reasons than just that.

Naruto: Then wha-

That's where it ends. Itachi thought they were on to him and he ran. Itachi told us to keep this information quiet. I feel that father intended to have Itachi hear this. For whatever reason, I wouldn't know. You don't stumble on this type of information willy nily. But Narucha and I promised to remain silent. Itachi said that it was a mission, therefore it is classified. I wouldn't say anything and Narucha would probably forget because she's stupid.

Hopefully mother comes home tomorrow. I miss her cooking. That's it for today I guess. Night!


	7. Chapter 7

Hi Journal.

Mother was still gone. Father said she was probably picking flowers in the highest point in the eastern Land of Fire, because this time of year is the only time of year that they could get some type of flower under a lunar rainbow. Or something along those lines. I'm pretty sure she said she would be back tomorrow. Father, on the other hand, had a day off. He told me that this was only his second off-day since Naruto had become Hokage. Itachi went off in the land of fire for a practice mission, led by a few Chunin looking to gain more Jonin-like experience. That left me and him alone most of the day. By most of the day, I mean all day.

I took this opportunity to practice more hand seals, but I needed to eat first. I got mad at myself, because I ate the last two lunchboxes yesterday. Father must have been really hungry too, because he gave me money and told me to bring back three of whatever I could find, one for each of us. He sent me off in the village, and told me to be fast with it. He was determined to not do any type of cooking. I believe that he has never cooked for mother, nor had he ever had any plans to.

Other than that, he slept most of the day. And he read a lot. I didn't know what of. I'm guessing some Uchiha scrolls he found or something. He asked me to do a lot of hand seals. Father shouted out any random combination of hand seals. One time he was just excessive and yelled out "ram-tiger-horse-monkey-tiger-rat-dragon-rat-dog-b oar-rat-dog-bird-tiger-horse-ram-tiger-dragon." Inora laughed when I messed up the "Rat" seal. The "Dragon" seal was tricky too, and I was completely lost as to how to make the "bird" seal. I was expecting father to scold me. But he said I need to practice all the time before he can actually teach me some cool new jutsu! He promised me as soon as I mastered all the seals he would teach me something like a basic Genjutsu! YES!

Later that night, when the moon came out, we then went out for ramen instead of Barbecue for dinner that night. At this point I knew two things. 1.) I see why Lord Sixth is so addicted to the stuff. 2.) Father has never cooked a day in his life. I wondered if father was actually going to buy food the entire time, or at the very least force me to make something.

Whenever we paid and left, father placed Inora on my shoulders. She was riding on my shoulders all the way home. Father was smiling walking behind us. Everything felt right. As much as I don't like my family sometimes, I really do love moments like these. I just can't wait until mother comes home tomorrow.

That's all for today. Goodnight!


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out.. I've been planning the rest of the story and never go around to updating it. Thank you for all the views and the reviews! I appreciate it greatly! As always, leave a review and follow me on twitter. Thank you!**

Hi again.

Today was boring. Mother returned home, and she wasn't feeling well at all. Inora was being a brat. Itachi was training in his Taijutsu all day. I practiced more hand seals.

Normally father gets home around sunset. Today he got home around later in the night. It was odd eating dinner without him at the head of the table. I kinda wondered why. Itachi said that maybe he was sent on some important mission. Mother didn't have a clue as to why father wasn't home.

It was nighttime by the time father got home. And boy was it a sight to see.

He stumbled in the door. His face was flushed of color. He looked sick. Itachi laughed and mother got wide eyed angry.

Father came home drunk.

Mother scolded him, but father was far from caring. Father said it was the birthday of Inuzuka Kiba. He wasn't originally going to go, but Naruto dragged him out. Father then said, as bad as he looked, Naruto was twice as bad. And as bad as Naruto was, Kiba was ten times as bad. Choji tried to keep up with Kiba, but father says Choji has nearly a bottle of Sake every night so he didn't feel a thing.

Mother was attempting to scold father further, but she could easily see her words weren't going to affect him at all. He stumbled all through the house looking for his bedroom. He got lost. Twice.

Itachi split his sides laughing. Mother was furious, but we couldn't help but see how comically she acted in the process. As father got to his bed, I could hear father puke, and mother screamed and fainted. It's times like these that make me realize how odd my family is and how funny they really are.

And I love them always.

That's all I got for the day. Night!


	9. Chapter 9

Hi there.

I've got bad news and more bad news.

Mother was crying. Actually she's still crying. Itachi, Inora and I tried to stop her and make her smile, but she said she was fine and told us to not worry about it. It makes me sad. I could hear her down the hall and it makes my heart hurt. Even while I'm writing this, I feel so bad that there is nothing that I can do for her.

Let me explain. It all happened at dinner. It was a great day. Nothing was a problem. Then we sat down for dinner. Mother prepared a whole roasted pot of pork, which is my father's favorite. We sat down, and within five minutes a cloud suddenly appeared over the meal. A yellow and green toad fell on top of the pork on my father's plate.

The following exchange took place.

"Hiya, Patriarch of the Uchiha! Long time no see!"

Father looked really annoyed. "Gamatora. Offspring of Naruto's favorite toad, Gamakichi. What could you possibly be here for? You're his daughter's contract toad."

"Well hello to you too, Sasuke." The toad said.

"Fine. Hello. What do you need?" Father asked.

"That's better." The toad replied. "Naruto sent me to you. He has an urgent mission for you."

Everyone at the table gasped. After all, father is one of the strongest ninja in our village and is Naruto's main aide. If he gets called for a mission, something must be terribly wrong.

"What kind of mission?" father asked.

The toad explained further. "I could tell you. But you won't like it. Especially your wife."

"Tell me before I lose my patience with you." Father mumbled, clearly irritated.

"It's an A-Rank assassination mission near the Hidden Grass village."

Mother shouted before we all had a chance to react. "Sasuke can't go! That's way too dangerous."

"Sorry. Sasuke is the only one that trusts Naruto to lead this mission. It's a fragile mission that's of the upmost importance. It must be handled with upmost care. Sorry you don't have much of a say, Lady Sasuke."

That's what the toad calls her. Lady Sasuke.

Father sighed and stood up. "Naruto's hands must really be tied sending me that far. Tell him I'll be there."

"Perfect. See you at the mansion Sasuke!" The frog disappeared with a poof of smoke.

What happened next was what was really sad. Itachi told me that A-Rank missions were the most dangerous of missions. Mother and father went to their bedroom. At this point, I couldn't hear what they were saying. But I just know it was an argument. Not screaming and throwing things, but it was a passionate and heated one nonetheless.

Father stormed out the room a half hour later. The last words father said before he left the bedroom were "I still love you, Ino." Father had a backpack on and left her presence. He told Itachi and me to watch mother and Inora. He left through the front door with no other word. Mother couldn't stop crying. Was the mission so dangerous? I hope not. I'm sad that he's gone now. I've never seen or heard of mother cry.

I guess that's it. I'll write tomorrow. Night.


	10. Chapter 10

Hi. Me again.

Today was still terrible. Itachi left go to the Academy, and Inora was crying all day because mother was crying all day. Mother left in search of answers in the middle of the day after she cooked Inora and I lunch then left. She didn't say much. I guess she needed to know why father was so far away with so little word! She knew it was something quiet and top secret, but she was his wife. She refused to not know what was going on. She made us stay home. Itachi told me she would do that before he left to the academy. I'm guessing she went to Naruto's office. I got scared because she went alone. I usually always get scared when she leaves. I forget that she was an actual Shinobi before.

About an hour-and-a-half later, she returned with the wife of the Orange Hokage; Hinata Hyuga. Hinata explained that Naruto was on mission of his own. He was currently in the Land of Rice Patties on an A-rank mission of his own. Hinata explained that while the village's military strength was as talented as ever, it was still thin. The population still hadn't recovered from the previous war. Both Hinata and mother wanted to know what was going on that required the Hokage and his aide to not only go on a mission, but separate ones at that?

Mother and Hinata were obviously both very sad. I think Hinata handled this better than mother though. Hinata couldn't say anything about the missions because Naruto had to leave so abruptly. She didn't know why, nor did she have a chance to ask. The only thing she knew was that was Kiba was with father, and Choji was with Naruto. Shikamaru was acting as Hokage for the moment. Shikamaru refused to tell us anything. He's a better liar than father.

As for Itachi and I, we continued to train. My mastery of the hand seals had finally become where I wanted them to be. I then practiced the Fireball Jutsu, and I barely got flames to become bigger than my fist. Itachi got really close to the top of the tree, but he had to stop because he kept tiring himself out. We both waited for father to teach us some super awesome jutsu now that we were progressing! Then I could beat Narucha!

Speaking of Narucha, I haven't seen or heard of her in a few days. Was she missing too? Was father's mission supposed to retrieve her? No way. Naruto would go get her. But maybe that's why father went out, because Naruto trusts him the most. Or maybe I'm just making the whole thing up because I just haven't seen her. For all I know she could be training with that weird Byakugan technique. I guess this means practicing my Fireball Jutsu even more now that I know exactly how to do the hand seals. Goodnight I guess.


	11. Chapter 11

Hi there!

Today was great! And kinda bad. In that order. Let's start here.

Father returned home. Well... not home. But he returned to the village. He is actually at the hospital. Rock Lee ran to our home to bring the news. Mother immediately gathered Inora and I and we sprinted to the hospital. After close to an hour and making some laps around the facility, we found his room. His eyes were wrapped in totally bandages. He was awake and sitting upright, which I found to be good. He was speaking with a blonde-haired nurse. Mother tackled him and hugged him and cried.

He said he was fine. Well, sorta. He had to get his torso healed a bit after she hugged his ribs too tight. Inora leapt onto his bed and basically tackled him. Mother was crying into his chest. I leapt and hugged him as well. How could I not? Shikamaru, Naruto's other aide, was the next person that ran in the room. He was out of breath when he asked what happened.

Father said his squad got pinched after he assassinated his target. In his squad of seven, the mission took a bad turn and suddenly there were only three members of the team left. He was forced to run. Father told us that rather than backtrack and retrieve their bodies and risk dying, he just burned everything to the ground using the Amaterasu. If they were discovered to be Leaf Ninja, then that would spark a war. He then said that he used this technique to cover the widest area he ever had done before. It also didn't help that father was also high on adrenaline at the moment. The nurse said that he ruptured a blood vessel in both of his eyes. This wasn't the normal blood vessel that breaks in his right eye when he normally uses the technique. This was in both eyes and his eyes were filled with blood as he ran back to the village. So his damaged eyes went virtually untreated for hours.

But the mission was a success.

Father and Shikamaru talked more specifics about the mission. But all that mattered was that father was going to be alright. Then, there was more good news and more bad news.

It appeared when Narucha and Hinata ran into the room. I've never heard Hinata yell, let alone speak over a dull roar, but she ran in the room and screamed.

"Where's Naruto!?"

Instantly, father turned his head in that direction. Rock Lee ran behind Hinata and directed her to some emergency room. Father yelled me and told me to go follow them. I guess I was supposed to get information on Naruto's condition and then tell father.

However when I protested because I wanted to stay with him, he yelled at me.

Here is what he said. "I won't tell you again, Inosaichi! Move!"

Here is how I knew father was angry with me. Father has NEVER called me Inosaichi. It has always been Saichi. Always.

So I sprinted after Hinata. It took me a minute to find where Rock Lee took her. Yet when I did, I was sorry to see what happened. Naruto was lying on the hospital bed. Both of his arms were wrapped in hard casts. His legs were under the blankets, but looked larger than normal. Casts too? I guessed they were in some type of bandage. His left cheek was covered up completely. He was somehow awake though and sitting upright when his wife and his daughter sprinted to him. Naruto's mind was elsewhere, seemed far happier than father to be with his wife and child. Then again, father doesn't wear his emotions on his sleeves like Naruto.

I then felt a little guilty because I wished father acted more like Naruto. While Hinata was busy grasping Naruto, Naruto's mind felt the need to be elsewhere.

"Hinata! Where is Sakura and Sasuke!?" he yelled.

Hinata said she didn't know where Sakura was. She hadn't seen her in days. She said Sasuke was in the hospital as well. Then Shikamaru entered the room, and he was out of breath again. Shikamaru said that Sasuke was fine and could get released as early as tomorrow. Sakura was working intensely on the rest of the team. Naruto then asked about Konohamaru. Shikamaru sighed and said it was not looking good for him. Konohamaru had an extensive amount of damage to not only his physical body, but his internal chakra network.

Anyways, I ran back to father and told him that Naruto was ok. Father then relaxed in his mattress. They can act like they aren't concerned about each other, but I l know they are. All I remember is sitting down on one side of the bed as mother and Inora sat on the bed next to him. The next thing I knew, I fell asleep, and then mother woke me up at sunset so we could go home. Inora got permission from Sakura to stay with father overnight for some reason. When we left, I saw that Inora was asleep on fathers side, and Sakura's hands were on father's temples and her hands were green. I was too sleepy to question it. We'll stop back at the hospital first thing tomorrow morning. So this is goodnight I guess.

See ya tomorrow.


	12. Chapter 12

Finally, we have a day of good news!

Today was kind of eventful, even though not too much happened. First, we went to the hospital this morning. This time Itachi joined us to go see father in the hospital. When we got there, we saw Sakura use her green hands and she had her hands over father's eyes. As soon as we walked in the room, Sakura greeted each of us. She finished up his eyes and let him go home for the day. Sakura left quickly left and brushed past mother, passive-aggressively brushing past her shoulder. I saw that! Was that because the room was cramped? Or was it because of something more like she hates mother? Itachi told me that Sakura would love mothers life. Mother is basically stress free. She has three children, and mother also has what Sakura wants most of all. Sasuke Uchiha.

Moving on, Father stood up and looked for clothes, and we realized mother didn't bring him a new outfit. Father sighed and sent her home quickly. When asked why, he responded in saying that "this hospital gown is unbecoming for an Uchiha."

Itachi and mother went home, leaving just father and Inora and I. We went to see Naruto. In Naruto's room there was just Narucha. She was asleep on the mattress right beside him. This made me realize how similar Naruto and Sasuke are when it comes to raising their daughters. Another thing I realized was that it's fascinating to hear a conversation between these two. I mean that like… Naruto is the Hokage, yet he talks to everyone as if they are his equal in strength and status. It's so odd. And for father… he talks to everyone in basically the same tone, but when he talks to Naruto, it's kind of different. It was kind of funny to see Naruto sulk that father got released from the hospital before he did. I loved it. Even though he is the Hokage, he still acts just as young as mother says he does!

Speaking of mother, it was almost like she still held a grudge against father for going on a mission. Itachi told me that mother didn't like when father went on missions. He then told me a story about it. Here is exactly what he said.

"Because before you were born, when father went on a mission to the Hidden Cloud, I was kidnapped. Lord Sixth came and got me without worry. Then, the next time he went on a mission, grandfather nearly died after falling off of a cliff trying to retrieve a rare herb. Basically, anytime father leaves, she is scared of someone else leaving too."

Makes sense. So she was content to hold a grudge against father, and father was also content to ignore her grudge. But it felt good to have him back at the head of the dinner table!

That's all I got. I feel bad because nothing interesting happened in a few days. Maybe tomorrow will be interesting. A lot of friends are coming over to see father and mother. So maybe I can bother them. Hopefully Uncle Choji's wife doesn't come over. She always grabs my cheeks and says that I'm adorable. I hate that!

Goodnight!


	13. Chapter 13

Uh, Journal, today was crazy. Even as I write this, I'm still shaken about it. Here is exactly what happened. I can't make this up.

Father came home from the hospital yesterday. No shock there. This afternoon, we got a visitor. It was Sakura. He was being further treated by Sakura for his overuse of his Sharingan. She came over and she healed his eyes at around noon. She left immediately to go treat Konohamaru. His condition was still bad. Today, everyone convened at our house to make sure father was ok. To no surprise, this only included Naruto, who was released from the hospital a few hours ago, and his wife and daughter. Looking for Naruto, it eventually became to include Kiba and his child, TenTen and her infant son, and Shikamaru.

Here is where it got crazy though. As Sakura made sure father's eyes were ok, she said that he needed her to walk with her to the hospital to run another quick test over them that required things that never left the hospital. Of course nobody bothered to question it, so father took a walk with her. Except me. I had to see what was going on. Im a kid. I get curious.

As they left and my mother started to entertain all of the guests, I leapt out my window and tailed my father. Don't give me that look. I'm a kid. I get curious.

As I watched from a far distance, I saw them just... walk. Father had his hands in his pockets, and Sakura simply walked on his side. Nothing was happening. Then suddenly, they stopped in the middle of the road. They faced each other. The sun set and it became harder to see them individually against the light. So I moved closer. It was one of the many roads in the village that was through a patch of trees along the side of the road. I moved only close enough to hear their words and barely see them.

Instantly, I wish I hadn't. I was behind a tree a few meters away from them, and I heard father scold Sakura.

"This is what you brought me here for? To waste my time with more of your feelings?" father said through gritted teeth.

"Still Sasuke, you must know! Especially after all this time how I feel!"

"Whatever." Father said. "I'm done talking about this."

Sakura grabbed his hands and pulled them closer to her. "Sasuke, you must be lying! You mean after all this time you feel nothing?"

Sasuke smacked her hands away and took steps away from her. He still faced her though. "I have a wife and three children. How dare you."

"But Sasuke. I still love you! Why can't you see that!?"

She grabbed his face and shoved her face close to his. She wanted to claim his lips. He smacked her hands away.

"BUT NOTHING! What did you think you would accomplish!? We'd run off and live together? Nearly ten years and you haven't grown up!" Father yelled.

Sakura cried. Tears flew from her eyes like I haven't ever seen before.

"But..."

"You haven't changed. You're still annoying."

"Sasuke... please. You must love me! After all Naruto and I did for you to get back in the village! You must feel the same way about us! About me! You know you do!"

"I give my allegiance to Naruto. You did nothing to help me." Father snapped.

"Sasuke, don't say that!"

"I've heard about it. While you were emotionally pleading and crying all day to the elders, Naruto did all he could to force himself to become Hokage to do whatever he could for me. So don't speak to me as if you've actually done anything productive for my well-being."

"BUT I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, SASUKE"

She shoved her face closer to his and he grabbed her cheeks and he pushed her away. Father turned away and left her standing there, her tears coming down like crazy. Sakura held her arm to grab him back, but he was too far away.

"So does my wife, Sakura."

Sakura froze. Father stared at her angrily. And then he crushed her psyche with this statement. "Maybe I was wrong about you. You're more annoying than you've ever been. You will never be anything but that. Ever."

Father walked away from her. She held herself and cried harder. Father never looked back. He walked away, and looked like he was headed home. When he walked down the road and turned a corner, he stopped.

"Inosaichi Uchiha!" he yelled.

How did he know I was here? When did he see me? I cut my losses and leapt to his side. I was so scared. I expected him to be angry. I expected him to hit me in the back of my head.

"Y-yes father?" I asked, my voice cracking in fear.

He put his hand on my head and smiled. "Not a word of this to your mother ok?"

I was so scared that I would let it slip, but was so happy father wasn't mad at me. I smiled and said "I promise!"

I prayed that I would be able to somehow keep it.


End file.
